Pandemic
by lanie-love09
Summary: Hi all! This my first attempt at writing an AU of TWD, there will be original characters from the show as well as some of my own from "Termites Ruin...". This story takes place shortly before the outbreak takes hold of world. And of course you already know the principle characters involved. Enjoy and thanks for reading. Lanie-Love
1. Chapter 1: PNR

"Here you go Ms. Carter, welcome back", Michonne takes her passport back from the Immigration agent and places it back in her knapsack; grabs a pair of sunglasses and begins to walk through the airport with her suitcase toward the ticket window for Greyhound.

As she walks through Atlanta International she inconspicuously looks for the various cameras set about the airport casually trying to avoid its view. The corridor leading to the bus terminal seems dim and extremely long; the coldness of the light gray cement wall adds to the eeriness of her journey now that she's back. About half way through the corridor; she notices two people walking, one directly behind the other. Both are about to walk past her.

The first person, an older woman dragging behind her a royal blue outdated square suitcase. Then next person is a middle aged man dressed in a dark gray suit carrying a small black briefcase.

Michonne glances over her shoulder once the two strangers walk past her; she was already nervous about being back in the U.S. but, the look of the middle aged man in the suit only increased her sense insecurity.

Almost to the end of the corridor she sees another sign for the bus terminal; unfortunately she notices the video camera adjacent to the overhead sign too late. Video camera just captured a full on view of her.

She quickly makes a beeline to the ladies room to change clothes. Once in the stall she quickly begin to change in a jeans, a tan short sleeve shirt that has "Il est trop tard", written across the front and back, sneakers and a Yankees baseball cap that Adesanya's maid packed for her. She rummages through the rest of the suitcase and grabs her Samsung tablet and a track phone and places it in her knapsack.

Just as she's about to zip up the suitcase she remembers that her most valuable possession was still inside. So she begins to frantically search for it; the one item that she'd rather have more then anything else in the world. The more she looks the more panicked she becomes until she hers the clatter of wooden toy keys hit the floor.

She grabs the toy keys with great care and holds them to her quivering lips; as though the keys were kissing her back; but she's forced to snap out of the daze when she hers someone entering the rest room.

Michonne stuffs everything back in the suitcase then stands to look at the suitcases contents realizing there's nothing else in the suitcase that she wants anymore. The only things in it were some clothes that that woman packed; and the memory of her time in Togo. She leaves opens the stall and with her knapsack and leaving behind the suitcase and the memories.

Before she leaves the restroom she stops in front of the full length bathroom mirror to look herself over one last time. She removes the baseball cap in order to use one of her locs to wrap the rest in a ponytail. She puts the cap and her sunglasses back on and leaves bathroom for the bus terminal.

Once she finds the bus displaying her destination she waits in line with other people to board. Finally able to board the bus she does a quick survey of who's sitting where and also to see if anyone is watching her or not. She walks towards the back and sits down in the last corner sit by the window.

The bus driver turns the 32 inch flat panel TV on that's displayed behind him for the passengers to enjoy. What appears on the screen is the Aljazeer channel. The ticker rolling across the bottom of the screen says, "India, China, Nigeria, Bangladesh and the Democratic Republic of Congo." A female reporter states that the President and Congress have agreed to place an indefinite holds on all in coming international flights until the outbreak has been contained.

Michonne pulls her sunglasses down some to see the screen clearly; her jaw nearly drops to her lap as she watches the chaos on screen. People are running away from the sick in Bagladesh. Then the channel shows a city in DaLiang Shan area of Si Chuan province in China; soldiers are gunning down the sick and healthy alike as they urgently try to leave the area.

She places her sunglasses back on her face and turns her head to look out of the window as the bus begins to pull away. As she watches the various people standing and sitting on the benches at the bus depot; the last person she sees on the bus platform is the man in the same man in the dark gray suit with the small black briefcase; he scouts the passengers in the window seats of Michonne's bus.

In an effort to avoid being noticed by the man she pulls her baseball cap down a little more to cover her face however, she forgets that bus has tinted windows making is impossible for the man to see inside anyway.

Michonne's paranoid and with good reason, she knows and also has the evidence to prove that the sudden outbreak of the dead in West Africa eighteen months ago (and soon the rest of the world); was due to a mandatory inoculation by one the largest pharmaceuticals organization on the planet. They were giving these immunizations to the masses in the poorest areas in the world. Telling people that its' an "all-in-one" cure for five deadliest illnesses within each area. In addition, the W.H.O and the W.T.O. had given these corporations complete access to areas in world with the greatest natural resources but, the people in these areas were also the most impoverished; Togo was one of first of those locations.

It's taken Michonne 18 months to get back to states. During her time away she's had to bare witness to man kinds need for power, expansion and destruction that will soon engulf the entire planet; placing the world and its inhabitants on the path of PNR, (point of no return).


	2. Chapter 2 A day late and a dollar

**_By far, this has been the strangest day Rick Grimes has had since taking the position of Deputy Sheriff nearly five years ago. He had decided to resign from the JOSC, (Joint Special Operations Command a high ranking branch of US DoD), after the death of his ex-wife Lori and his daughter Judith. Their deaths came about due to a car accident that took place almost 10 months after the divorce. _**

**_Carl took the deaths of his mother and little sister particularly hard; he was on his way to being a young delinquent for a time until Rick was able to leave the DoD for good and settle back in his home town of King County in order to raise him._**

**_For the past few days; the Kings County Sheriff's department has been trying to track a wild animal that's been mauling and eating people along the nature reserve trail in the county recreational parks. _**

**_Sheriff Grimes has recommended former Sgt. Daryl Dixon of the U.S. Marine Corp. to assist with the tracking of the wild animal. Sgt. Dixon went on search and rescue mission with Rick jungle terrains in Bogota, Columbia as well as other missions. They had become close friends working together throughout the years._**

**_Three days later,_**

In a dark green fatigue like jeans and a black t-shirt cut up sleeves along with a faded Mick Jagger lip logo; Daryl inspections some of the marking on along the trees of the long forgotten nature trail; he asks Rick, "So how's Carl been during all this foolishness?"

Rick, dressed in full Sheriff attire pulls out his binoculars and looks up the trails away when he says, "He's been staying with a DoD buddy of mine for the past few days; I'd been getting called all over the county at crazy hours of the night for the past week or so. He called me this morning said that he's tired of being away from home." Rick admits.

"Can't really blame him too much…it probably reminds him of staying with his Lori's sister after the car accident until they were able to pull me out the mission in Lebanon.

Daryl kneels down to inspect some foot prints then shoot right back to standing position, "Shit Rick? How is Carl now 17. Why the hell does he need a babysitter?" he asks indignantly.

Rick brings the binoculars down from his eyes, "You know good and goddamn well my son ain't no 17; his something like…12 or 13 I think."

The two chuckle at one another then Rick says, "I'm gonna pick him up when I get off my shift. I'll be off the next 4 or 5 days cause of they've been running me ragged. I figured I'd take Carl on a road trip or something."

Out of nowhere they hear screaming in the distance. They both start running toward the screams; by they get there they see an elderly woman; kneeling on the ground shoving her face with the insides of a dead carcass.

As the two of them slowly approach the woman Rick starts to recognize the old woman. Its Phyllis Pritchett; wife of Henry Pritchett that lived out of an RV on the park site. The two men gaze upon Mrs. Pritchett in disbelief as they realize that she's eating the inside of her husband Henry.

Rick pulls out his python and aims it at Phyllis and yells, "Stop, Sheriff's department!"

Phyllis stops eating her husband then lifts her head slowly and looks around until her eyes land on Rick and Daryl. She slowly staggers to her feet; with her husband bloody insides still in her hands she begins walking towards Rick and Daryl.

Rick begins yelling at her again but she continues her approach; he shoots 5 rounds in the old woman's chest but she continues her steady pace toward the two men. The closer she got the more Rick and Daryl could see the rotting flesh around her face and the solid pale yellow color in her eyes.

Seeing that the woman has no intention of stopping; Rick aims for her head end her approach instantly.

Daryl look in astonishment at what just happened, "Damn, did you see how she was coming toward me." Rick asks Daryl.

Daryl replies slowly, "Yea…", they walk closer to Phyllis's dead body, in order to get a better look at her. He leans down next to the body and continues with "…it looks like they were a day late and a dollar short on stopping those international flights" he looks up at Rick and shakes his head in despair, "…the sickness is already here."

After the coroner's truck reaches the Rick starts walking back up the trail with Daryl in silence. Just when they reach their vehicles Rick turns to Daryl and says, "I gotta go pick up Carl. He knows that I'm off for the next few days. You sticking around the area for a while?"

"Yea, I'll be hanging around for a few days before going back to Palmetto. But for right now I think am gonna head over to "Vudu" for some PT…after seeing that shit I need to clear mind. You should stop by two before you pick up Carl." Daryl tells him.

"Naw…", Rick open the door to the Sheriff's sedan, "I was just using that place as crutch for a while after she left. Now, it just feels funny when they don't charge me or when they decide to give me a discount."

Daryl shakes his head and looks down at the ground, "You ain't heard from her huh?"

Rick shakes his head no.

Daryl lays his tracking equipment in the back of his Ford Bronco then opens the drive side door then looks at Rick, "Well…let's just hope they've moved her to a safer assignment by now."


	3. Chapter 3: Saint Emilion

Late afternoon or early evening,

Remnants of the sun are nearly gone once Rick turns on to the block that leads to his house; he glances over at Carl in the passenger seat texting on his phone. He decides to break the silence with, "Who are you tex…?"

Clearly, Carl's in some type of funk because he interrupts his father with, "When are they gonna open the schools Dad?"

After what Rick witnessed today with Daryl; he really had no idea. So he says, "I don't know, it depends on how the county school systems and the executives council votes."

Carl sinks back down in the passenger seat in a huff and goes back to silence and texting.

Rick attempts to reason with him, "Listen Carl, I know that I've been working around the clock but, I'll be off for the next week or two. I was thinking we should take advantage of the schools being closed and go on a road trip. Maybe hit a couple of amusement parks, go deep sea fishing or some…"

Rick stops talking when he notices two black government sedans parked in front of his house.

He pulls his Ford Expedition in to the driveway; Carl looks up from his phone and sees the two black sedans as well.

"…Carl go inside I'll be there in a few." Rick orders.

Carl gets out of the truck; opens the hatch and grabs his bags. As he slowly closes the hatch door he looks over at the men getting out of the sedan; squinting his eyes some he realizes one of the men is Shane Walsh.

He watches Shane from a distance as he begins to walk closer to the driveway; he mutters under his breath, _"Christ, some people just have no shame"_, then he goes in the house and upstairs to his room.

Rick gets out of the truck and he sees his former, partner, colleague and former best friend, getting out of one of the sedans in a dark gray suit, white shirt and red tie. The security team that's with him are dressed in a similar manner.

Shane and the two men walk over to Rick standing in the driveway, "Hello Rick, how've you been?" The security team turn around to watch the street.

Rick looks at Shane with skepticism and asks, "What do you want?"

"I just wanna talk for a few minutes; but can we go inside though, I don't want to draw attention from your neighbors." Shane explains.

Rick looks at him apprehensively; nods his head yes, "But your goons stay outside."

* * *

><p>The two of them walk inside; Shane casually compliments Rick home, "This is a nice place you got here for you and Carl."<p>

Rick looks over at him then looks around the foyer, "Thank you". He flips the light switch to the lamps in the living room; walks across the spacious living room over to a drink cart and pours himself a whiskey and sits down on the couch.

Shane pops his head in the living room entrance from the foyer; he looks over the open living room and its hardwood floor. All the walls looked as though they were made out of modern limestone; the wall to the right has a large bay window. Each wall has some type of original painting or sculpture on it.

Directly across from foyer entrance is a mounted 48 inch flat screen t.v.; beneath the t.v. is a white stone mantled fireplace; and to the left of the fireplace, a two-pane patio window.

Shane could tell from the size and location of the windows in the living room; that the daylight would light up the living room like an art gallery.

His shoes click-clack across the floor as he makes his way to the drink cart to pour himself a drink, "Damn man, this is a kick-ass living room, and great hardwood floors what color is this?"

Rick removes his sheriff's hat, somewhat annoyed and places it on the end table next to the couch; he takes a sip of whiskey then moves to the edge of black Italian leather sectional and says "Bordeaux hardwood".

As magnificent as the room is it still felt cold and distant to Rick, the only reason he never changed the entire room was because of _"Saint Emilion"_.

He'd received plenty of compliments on this room that Michonne designed. She could've easily been an interior decorator or a criminal attorney, district attorney, a King County public defender.

Rick would've been happy with her in any of those professions; anything besides being a special agent for U.S. H.H.S-O.I.G.

"So where's Carl?" Shane asks.

Rick sighs and ignores his question, "So what did you need to talk with me about Shane?"

He pours himself a glass of whiskey; takes a sip then says, "We're trying to locate Michonne."

The smell of European leather creeps from the sofa as Rick leans in to it; he takes a large sip from his glass then shrugs his shoulders, "I haven't seen her in nearly four years but, my guess is that you and your people already know that. So I'll ask you again what do you want to talk to me about?"

"We are just double checking making sure we haven't over looked anything." Shane reassures him, "We just want to get her back to D.C. safe and sound."

Shane finishes his drink and pours another one; he grabs the bottle and walks towards Rick pour him another shot.

"Well like I said; I haven't seen her in over four years since she decided…, he pauses momentarily before downing the whiskey in his glass and finishes then mocks, "'…save the world.'"

Shane looks over at his former childhood friend and laughs while pouring more whiskey in his glass, "So you're actually still pissed that she went off to do something that really could save some lives? Shit, that sounds like a real life hero to me."

"I really couldn't give two shits about what it sounds like to you Shane." Rick takes another sip.

Shane walks back over to the cart to put the bottle down; when he turns around he glances up at the large painting of Michonne on the wall behind Rick.

She's sitting on a dirt colored floor with her legs criss-cross and a wine colored towel wrapped around her body and under her arms; a strap lays on top of the towel crossing the middle of her chest. Michonne's arms are extended so that each hand lays upon each knee; all but one loc has been pulled in to bun on top exposing her long regal neck. The sparkling bronze color in her eyes nearly matches the color of her gold hoop earrings along.

And the one loc dangling from the side only intensifies the arousal and beauty he feels for the painting because it draws attention to the sword handle protruding from her shoulder.

"Jesus…she's gorgeous", Shane whispers in admiration.

"_Saint Emilion_" Rick says.

Rick continues to look down at the floor reluctant to look up at Shane because he already knows he's staring at the painting. He knows Shane's staring at the painting because everyone that walks in his living room stares at it, men and women alike.

Shane naps back to reality and begins to brief Rick, "Look, she found a something between the Glaxo-Smith & Klein and these vaccination clinics popping up in villages like the one in Togo; she has evidence that she plans on going public with and bringing to the U.N and W.H.O . We want to make sure that happens sooner rather than later."

"Well, where the hell is Mike and the rest of H.H.S.-O.I.G?" Rick asks.

Shane knew he would have to go in to detail so he gave Rick the printed version, "Around a year ago Michonne she was stationed in Niamtougou, Togo. She sent us a report about how the people there kept claiming that dead never stay dead. How they never feared the dead until the health clinic started offering free vaccinations for AIDS, Flu, malaria and a host of other diseases that's been ravaging the area for decades."

One afternoon while Michonne and one of Mike's team members were in Amlamé getting statements and information from the locals about a free clinic; some of our operatives reported that Mike went to do an autopsy on the local Sharman that had died of fever after receiving a flu shot from the local clinic. They said the Shaman suddenly woke up and grabbed Mike by the arm and was about to bite him but, one the locals stabbed the Shaman in the head with a staff. Unfortunately, Mike got scratched on the neck.

A few days later as Michonne and Mike's team member were approaching Niamtougou when they saw the locals along the rode leaving the town in droves. Once they made it back to the village they saw the local clinic had been burned to the ground.

Michonne made back to her house but it was too late; she saw Mike lying on the floor in the dining room with a machete left in his head…", Shane grabs the bottle and pours another shot.

Rick watches as Shane suddenly becomes a tad flustered.

Shane walks back over back over to the cart; then finished the rest of his drink. Without turning around he continues, "…when her and the team member walked in to the kitchen they saw the remains of her three year old son covered by a blanket."

All the air is sucked out of the room as Rick studies the Bordeaux hardwood floor; the floor she loved so much. He's speechless at what Shane has just told him. He had no idea that Michonne and Mike had a child together but even worse that she saw something as horrific as the remain of her child covered in a blanket. He had already knew exactly what that felt like when going to identify Judith after the car accident.

Rick holds his stare at the floor trying to maintain the rage and anguish within him to avoid having Shane read his body language and emotion over the disturbing news. They were both well trained in reading the movement and body language of people during an interrogation.

Without lifting his head he manages to asks, "How the hell do you know all that?"

Shane turns around; walks over fireplace mantle and rests his arm on top, "It was Leon Basset one of rookies from Morgan's unit that was trying to stay long enough to help bury the bodies but, Togo troops started gunning down the locals on the side of the road trying to leave. Leon tried to get her to leave but, he said she kept on digging.

Out of self-preservation; Leon left her there and escaped through jungle before the troop started shooting inside Niamtougou. He made his way back to the Embassy in Lome."

Rick begins to feels mania in his hands and his chest; he takes a couple of shallow deep breath then looks at Shane from the corner of his eyes and calmly asks, "So you left her there, that's the main reason for the goddam JOSC is to fucking extract our people…and you all left her there!"

He begins to raise his voice, and says, "It was your people that sent her on that mission…" he shakes his head in shame, "…and you left her there?! What the hell is wrong with you people?! Can't you people stay loyal to anybody?!"

"She's a big girl Rick, she knew the risk!" Shane yells, "And she's badass bitch too…" He takes a a couple of photos out of his pocket and hands them to Rick, "Surveillance cameras spotted Michonne coming in to Atlanta international three days ago. So we know she's back but, for some reason she's not broadcasting her whereabouts to anyone."

Rick looks at the pictures and remains emotionless; but inside his heart slows as relief washes over him knowing that she's still alive and that she's made it back to the Georgia. He gets up off the couch and shoves the photos back in to Shane's chest; walks over to the bar tray and slowly places his glass on the bar cart, "Well…I'm sorry to hear about Michonne loss but, that doesn't change the fact that I have no idea where she is."

Shane walks over to the cart and pulls a business card out of his pocket and hands it to Rick then pats him on the shoulder before walking out of the living room. The business card reads, _"Shane Walsh, Chief Risk Management Officer, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services"_.

Rick reads the card then asks, "What happened to Dale?"

Shane looks back at Rick before opening the front door and tells him, "He retired last year" he shrugs his shoulders, "Something about personal reasons. Let me know if you hear from her". Then he walks out the front door.

* * *

><p>Rick watches the brake lights of the two black government sedans as they ride down the block; he closes the window curtains then turns around to eyeball the glass Shane used.<p>

His detest for Shane originates from him sleeping with Lori after the divorce however, he loathed the fact that him and Dale convinced Michonne to go on the mission to Togo knowing exactly how unstable that region was due to the constant over turning of war loads in that part of West Africa.

Before Rick realizes just how angry he really is, he throws the bar cart across the living room. The noise from the shattering glass quickly reels him back to the present; he painfully pinches the bridge of his nose as he tries to focus.

Carl runs from his bedroom to the top of the steps, "Dad, what's wrong?!"

"Uh…nothing, I knocked over the drink cart. Nothing's wrong" Rick answers.

Rick knows he won't sleep tonight; so he runs upstairs and changes in to civilian clothes; grabs a jacket out of the bedroom closet then grabs his mobile and his emergency track mobile.

Before he leaves the bedroom, he reaches in between the headboard and mattress of his bed and grabs a fully loaded Beretta and 3 full clips then walks in to Carl's room, "Listen, I need you to do me a favor, clean up that mess in the living room for me. Then I want you to pack some clothes and whatever else you may need for the next couple of weeks. We'll be living when I get back."

Carl gets up from his bed irritated, "Shit, where are you going now?!"

Rick gives his son the look of a stern father and grits his teeth, "Watch your mouth son, just be ready to go once Morgan gets here.

Rick leaves the house then pauses to see who's watching him; he walks over to his truck and gets inside.

He starts up the truck but, before he pulls off he send a text to Daryl from his track mobile, _"I got an emergency surgery are you available to assist?" _

Before Rick even pulls out of the driveway, there's a return text that says, "In 60 at Andrea's".


	4. Chapter 4: Last Stop

_**Three evenings ago,**_

It's around 7:30p when Greyhound Bus #4743 pulls off of I-185 S and on to MLK JR Pkwy that leads to the bus depot somewhere in the south Columbus, Georgia. The depot's located on the outskirts of an industrial park in Muscogee County.

Michonne wakes up due to the speed bumps along the ramp leading to the parking lot. She sits up slowly and looks out of her window. She immediately notices how lifeless the parking lot appeared under the dim off-white lighting coming from the street lamps.

She knew she was tired but hadn't planned on sleeping that hard on a commercial bus. Still it was the most sleep that she'd had since leaving Africa. Sleep hasn't been very restful since sometime before she buried her son back in Togo. The lack of quality sleep and her body exhaustion only intensified and multiplied are suspicions and paranoia. At times she knew she wasn't thinking straight but she didn't have too much of a choice whether to worry about it now that she was alone in another potentially hostile environment.

Once the driver parks the bus; passengers begin to gather their belongings from the overhead compartment to exit. Michonne continues to sit in her seat until everyone has left the bus.

While she waits; she peers out of her window and observes the driver as he hands the passengers their luggage from the luggage compartment on the side of the bus. She observes the various faces of the people waiting to collect there things; some of them were on the bus when she board it back at Atlanta International others must have gotten on at different stops while she was asleep.

To her surprise; the corners of her mouth began to turn in to up in to a position that felt foreign to her. Muscles that she forgot were in her face when she sees a little Mexican girl possibly 3 or 4 holding the hand of a man that was hopefully her father waiting in line to retrieve their belongings from the driver.

To Michonne the little girl seems quite content holding the man's hand as the move up in the line. The man looks down at the little girl and joyfully smiles at her then; he picks her up and gives her a fatherly kiss on the cheek.

The scene of the father and daughter causes Michonne to temporarily forget her paranoia but its only momentarily replaced by her own unattended grief of the loss of her son Andre'. Minutes before her heartache and misery swallow her whole; she turns her head towards a deep male voice with a heavy Haitian accent.

"Ma'am, this is the last stop; you need to exit the bus now", the bus driver tells her pulling her back to the present moment and her paranoia.

"Oh-uh…sorry." She responds.

She grabs her knapsack and starts to leave the bus but before she walks down the steps to exit the bus she turns to ask the driver as he collects the trash from the seats, "There's supposed to be another bus departing at 11:00p tonight, yes?"

"Yea, I believe so, but you should probably check the inside to make sure there haven't been any delays. Traffic has been getting pretty bad over the past 48 hours."

"Thank you." She answers and leaves.

Knowing that there's a three hour wait; Michonne decides to walk toward north on MLK Jr Pkwy to get a something to get a coffee and something to eat.

Before walking out of the station Michonne grabs a map and a bus schedule. As she walks away from the building and across the parking lot; she sees some of the passengers from her bus fleeing from the parking lot in to their rides that have come to pick them up.

She watches curiously as one of the elderly women from her bus slowly walks toward a black two-door BMW. The driver; a young man, possibly in his early twenties; snatches the elderly woman's luggage throws it in to the trunk; she over hears the young man impatiently saying, "Come on granma' we got to go."

Michonne's walking across the parking lot towards the sidewalk when she hears the sound of a car speeding in reverse; she quickly looks over her shoulder and sees the BMW speeding towards the exit of the bus depot and her as well. She quickly jumps out of its path and watches the BMW almost on two wheels, as it makes a sharp left to get back on the I-185.

Shocked by the BMW recklessness; she looks back at the parking lot to make sure that no other drivers are about to run her over, when she sees someone standing in shadows of the bus depot building entrance.

The anxiety hits Michonne quick as she begins to moderately walk on along the dimly lit sidewalk. By the time she reaches the third block she again looks over her shoulder to make sure she's not being followed however, it came as no surprise when she does notice that someone is following behind her only a block or two away.

As an explosion of terror grips her chest; she starts running up the block towards some loud voices she hears in the distance. Every few seconds she looks over her shoulder to see if she is still being followed and also to see if the person in running. Michonne's confirmations only hastens her pace.

She turns the corner at the sixth block; continuing to run she eyes various strip and bar club signs. She stops at various entrance doors pulling on them hoping that one of them are unlocked. She finally finds an unlocked door and hurries inside.

She closes the door behind her and locks it then; she stands in the corner shadow that's being provided by the store lights coming from another door down a small corridor.

The voices she heard a few minutes earlier are about to pass by the locked door. Nervously, Michonne stands in the corner shadow of the corridor as the loud voices she heard a few minutes earlier get closer she realizes that voices are of two drunk men arguing over the statements made by the CDC regarding the recent outbreaks in Asia.

As the two drunks past the door; the men stop arguing as someone runs in between the two of them without so much as an excuse me or a passing apology. Both men get indignant with the runner and shout out obscenities then continue down the block.

Once the door was clear any voices; she steps to the opposite side of the front door to look up the block. She watches as a man in a dark suit stops in front of one bar fronts; holding his hand to his ear listening then speaking exhaustively.

"He must be wearing a Bluetooth", she says under her breath as she watches the man walk inside the bar.


	5. Chapter 5 Evening Customers

Breathing a sigh of relief, Michonne hears the store door at the end other of the small yet stuffy corridor buzzing every few seconds. She slowly creeps over to the door to take a look inside.

It isn't a very large store, it looks more like the size of a boutique than a store. On one side of the store she sees various types of used construction tools and equipment lined up against the right side of wall and on the floor; to the left side sees four glass display cases full of guns and jewelry.

High up on the walls behind the glass displays are rows and rows of shot guns and rifles however; what catches Michonne's eye was the different swords and blades that are littering the lower part of the gun walls.

Understanding that the store's most likely a pawn shop, she decides to pull on the store door to enter but it doesn't open. She waits a few more seconds until she hears the buzzing of the door so she can enter.

When she gets inside she moves away from the door in case the man in the dark suit decides to peer inside from the sidewalk entrance.

Moving closer to the gun cases she considers which ones could be carried the easiest as well as the ones she could easily acquire ammunition for. The $50k in cash Adesanya paid her for the job she did back in Africa; could easily cover the cost of whatever she chose whether it came with a permit or not.

She moves closer to the glass displays and gazes at the different types of swords and blades along the lower part of the wall. All of the swords and blades were uniquely crafted and the Tsuka (handle) on all were beautiful.

But the katana that stood out the most for her was the one that appeared to have the most wear and tear on its tsuka but, the beautiful jade jewel that had been encased in its buttercap made the sword that much more exotic.

Clearly the other swords were never used they were only made for show. After what happened in Togo she needed a weapon that would be useful especially if she ever had to get out of danger without making any loud noises like a gun would.

While grabbing the katana off the wall; she turns towards the store door because she hears the buzzing again. Then she looks down the aisle towards the back office.

"Hello? Is anyone back there", she yells, "I'm interested in this katana on the wall?"

She contemplates on the silence throughout the front and back of the store that she hadn't noticed before. Walking a bit closer to the back entrance of the store she feels a light but unsettling breeze blowing inside from the back of the pawn shop.

She peeks her head inside the back and sees the back door is wide open; explaining where the breeze came from.

Still walking in the back of the shop further; she sees an office door partially open, but all she can see is someone in a beat up blue flannel shirt and filthy blue jeans leaning over someone in an office chair.

The first thing that pops in to her head is how embarrassed and somewhat jealous she is that she's about to interrupt two people that are screwing one another or at the very least one of them is getting some oral sex. Either way she thinks that the two are so engrossed in the act that they don't even realize that they're hitting the buzzer to the door repeatedly.

"Uh, excuse me… but I'm really interested in buying this katana…." She yells out again.


	6. Chapter 6: Patronage

**Present Day**

After reading where Daryl wants to meet, Rick calls Morgan before he pulls out of the drive way to see if he'll pick up Carl for him while going to meet with Daryl over at Andrea's but Morgan doesn't answer. Instead of leaving a voicemail message he decides to send a text message; then pulls out of his driveway to meet Daryl.

20 minutes later, Rick makes a right turn on to Canter Street, the sleazy part Kings County. As he's making the turn he sees a black government sedan turn on to Canter St. as well with only 4 cars in between.

He's not too concerned with being tailed right now because in the past Rick has stop by Andrea's ever so often. He used to be quite the frequent member when Michonne left for Togo; but now he only comes by every four to six months and the government goons were already aware of this.

Rick gets to the Andrea's and parallel parks in front, he doesn't see Daryl's Ford Bronco around so decides to wait inside.

He walks up to the front door of the bar; then looks up at the camera hidden behind the fluorescent pink "Vudu" sign hanging on the wall of the second floor on the outside of the building. Looking around again for Daryl's Bronco Rick is reminded that Daryl would never park in the vicinity of where he was actually going; a standard procedure that an ex-Marine would never forget.

He finally here's someone at the door; when it opens its Andrea standing in Jeans and a tank top with no bra and a wrench in her hand.

With a large grin on her face Andrea's says, "This must be our lucky day, first Daryl and now you."

She pulls Rick inside by his jacket and closes the door behind him.

Forcibly pushing Rick up against the wall; she and plants him with a fervent kiss that's not returned on his part.

He pushes her away and asks, "Where's Daryl?"

"Well he's a little busy. Come on let's go down stairs and get you a drink; I'll tell one of the girls to let him know you're here." She tells him.

Vudu is Andrea's place of business its a privately owned bar and "massage" parlor. The basement and first floor were bars while second and third floors were actually massage rooms. Both businesses were very lucrative for Andrea.

* * *

><p>Once down stairs Rick's reminded of the smoke filled bar and cat-house waiting lounge that he used to visit often; sometimes he would go there just to be in the company of another female. But after a while he realized that no female could possibly replace Michonne<p>

He sits down at the bar while Andrea tells the bartender to take a break then; begins to pour Rick a shot of Jameson.

He stops Andrea and say, "No thanks, I'll just have some water."

Rick looks around the bar and only sees a couple of patrons waiting to be seen, "I guess it's a slow night for you ladies?"

With a nod of her head she smiles and fills his glass with some ice water; leaning down on the bar after handing him his water Andrea answers, "Well, with whatever this shit", she points to the t.v. in the corner, "that's been going around everywhere; the men in this town have become a bit…skittish. You know when it's time to play hero to the wife and kids; they'll leave us whores alone until things go back to normal."

Rick sips his water and looks at Andrea annoyed by the sarcasm then looks up over a the t.v. broadcasting the local news and says, "Yea…well whatever. What's with the wrench?"

"Oh", She picks the wrench up off the bar top, "I gotta damn leak in one of the showers I'm working on…", she grabs his hand on the bar, "…but I can always use some help in a shower. You were always good with your hands." She implies.

"Rick smiles pathetically at Andrea; shakes his head no while pulling his hand from hers, "I don't think so".

Andrea stands back up starts smiling as Daryl walks down the basement steps, "So, I trust that Candice got some of those kinks out of your back?"

Daryl plops himself down on the bar stool next to Rick exhausted but with a smile, "Yes she did."

She pours Daryl a shot of Jameson then hands him the shot and the bottle, "Well, I have to go plumb", she says while showing the two men the wrench in her hand, "You two of you catch up". She places her hand on Ricks again and says, "You know where to find me if you get tired of business."

Then she leaves from behind the bar and walks back upstairs.

* * *

><p>"So what's up?" Daryl asks.<p>

"I got an operation that I need some help on…an extraction", Rick looks around again at the one or two patrons in the room; then leans in close to Daryl, "Shane came by earlier asking if I've seen Michonne."

"Yea, so what you haven't right?" Daryl asks.

"No, I haven't but he showed me pictures of her at Atlanta international 3 days ago. He said that she doesn't want anyone to know that she's back."

"Well who the hell is she hiding from?" Daryl asks with concern.

"I don't know but she was definitely trying to hide. She had on a baseball cap and sunglasses. The pictures Shane showed me were only of side profiles with the exception of one where she looks like she's heading down the hallway toward the bus terminal." Rick explains.

"Why the hell is she hiding from Shane when he's the one that sent her?" Daryl asks before pouring another shot.

"I don't know, that's what's bothering me. Some shit went down in Togo with those clinics she went to investigate", Rick finishes his water and pours a shot of Jameson in his glass, "He said that she had some information linking the W.H.O. and W.T.O with the sudden outbreaks".

Rick pours himself and Daryl another shot then reluctantly tells Daryl, "Shane says that her and Mike had something going and they had a son. One day when she came back from an investigation in the next town…she found Mike and her son dead."

"Why ain't the hell did they go get her, that's what the fuck the entire god damn division is for?" Daryl says pissed off that Shane left her there.

"I know, I know that's the same thing I asked and he came up with some bullshit…" Rick starts to get angry and frustrated at the thought of the beautiful woman in the "_Saint Emilion"_ painting being left behind by her own employer and government.

Daryl pats Rick shoulder, "Listen Rick, I'm in you know that right, I worked with her before too; she's good people", Daryl pours another shot and throws it back down his throat, "She's saved my life damn near as many times I saved her out in the field."

"Well it's been three days she could be anywhere by now. Do we know anyone in DoT…", Rick turns to looks at t.v. as they show breaking news,

* * *

><p><em>"In local news, the sight of a pawn shop in the south end of Muscogee County was a frightening sight for police 72 hours ago; when they discovered the body of Philip Rhee, owner of Powell Pawn Shop on Powell Avenue, on the floor of his business. Police Investigators describe the crime scene as horrifying and demonic.<em>

_Police received a call from the owner's son Glenn Rhee on the night in question; the son found the bodies of two men and his father dead on the floor in the back of the pawn shop. Glenn Rhee described the site of his father as being something from horror movie. _

_Investigators say that Phillip Rhee was miss a third of his face; that was apparently eaten off by one of the unidentified dead bodies in the back of the shop. _

_The only leads in the case so far is the security video that was simultaneously being transmitted to a cloud storage space. Glenn Rhee has released those videos to investigators. _

_An unidentified woman is seen on the video; apparently she came there to purchase a sword between 7:30p and 9:00p. The video shows an African-American woman being attacked by one of the homeless men and then owner Phillip Rhee she's then mysteriously rescued by an unidentified man who runs in from the back door._

* * *

><p>The second the security video comes on Rick recognizes that it's the same outfit that Michonne had on in the pictures that Shane showed him earlier that night.<p>

He jump out the bar seat and runs over to the t.v. to turn it up.

Daryl moves closer to the t.v. to hear what's being said.

_"…We want to warn our viewing audience that video we are about to show is intended for mature audiences."_ The anchor man announces.

The grainy black and white video shows Michonne slowly walking in to the pawn shop looking around. She spends a few minutes at the gun display then over to the wall with the swords.

While grabbing the katana off the wall; she turns towards the store door because she hears the buzzing again. Then she looks down the aisle towards the back of the store.

_"Hello? Is anyone back there", _she yells,_ "I'm interested in this katana on the wall?" _The caption on the t.v. reads.

_"Uh, excuse me… but I'm really interested in buying this katana…."_ she yells out again, _"I'll go back and wait in the store for you to finish…whatever"_

When she turns around; Michonne is only 2' away from a crazed homeless man that has wondered in through the open door in the back of the store.

Rick watches the t.v. in horror at how Michonne falls to the floor from the clumsy lunge of the walker. Falling to the floor first allowed her to roll over in seconds to avoid the walker from falling directly on her.

She leaves her knapsack on the floor and stands up with the katana she planned on purchasing in her hands. With her sword, she strikes the first walker right down the middle of its skull but she has some trouble pulling the sword back out. The other walkers from the office get closer and closer while she falls to the ground trying to remove the sword from skull of the walker she just put down. She gets nervous due to the fact that she is not sure how to use the sword properly and also because she knows that the space in the back of the store is very narrow for sword play by a novice.

Suddenly, the video shows a man in a dark blue suit, running through the back door; he shoots the owner (now a walker) and the other walker that came out of the office.

The man in the dark suit leans his head out of the back door then walks over to help Michonne up off the floor.

She quickly jerks her arm away and tries to grab for the sword but the man in the suit aims his gun at her and says, "I don't want to hurt you, please cooperate."

"Is he out there?" she coldly asked the man, but he doesn't answer.

"Is he out there?!" She screams, "Is…"

The man quickly aims his gun for the security camera in the back room and shoots it.

* * *

><p>The t.v. in the bar turns to snow momentarily before the anchorman appears on the screen again.<p>

_"Police artists have recreated a sketch of the woman and man in the video_", a penciled sketch appears on the screen of a Michonne in large sun glasses and a baseball cap that practically hides most of her face and a generic description of the man in the dark suit.

_"…the woman in the video appears to be an African-American weighing between 125 -135 lbs and her approximate height is between 5'6" - 5'8". If you have any information regarding the whereabouts of this woman wanted for questioning please contact the Muskogee County Police Department immediately."_

Rick he closes his eyes while pinching the bridge of his nose, trying to remain calm after seeing Michonne fighting for her life now that she's back in the states. The more he knew she was back in the area the more his thirst to find her grew.

He immediately turns around to see if Daryl was watching, "I-I gotta go find her…", he says to Daryl, "…can you help me I could really use a tracker."

Daryl saw the anguish in his friend's eyes and felt just as strong about trying to find Michonne. There's always been one small degree between Michonne and Daryl that kept the two at bay. Daryl and Michonne were similar to brother and sister.

It was just those one or two pheromones that made the attraction between Michonne and Rick click and it was those same pheromones that kept Daryl and Michonne from being attracted to one another.

"Of course man you know I'm with you", Daryl tells him, "But the question is who the hell was the man holding her at gunpoint? Is he one of us? Is it one of Shanes people?"

Rick starts walking towards the steps, "No it can't be one of Shane's people, if it were he wouldn't have comes asking me where she is."

"Alright well who to we have in Colum...", Daryl stops talking when he hears one of Rick phones vibrate.

"…Shit!" Rick says as he fumbles in his pockets looking for both phones.

He finds the right phone and touches the screen to answer.

"Morgan, yea what's up? Did you grab Carl for me?" Rick asks.

"I'm turning the corner to your street now, look man some shit is going down. The county executive is saying that governor is about to call in the national guard to activate marshal law. It's like fucking mass hysteria going on up north and something happened at the coroner's office tonight."

Rick stops walking and asks, "Where are you right now?"

"I'm turning in to your driveway." Morgan answers.

"Look I already told Carl you were coming, just make sure that he's got everything he wants to take on vacation for the next couple of weeks. I'll grab him from your house in a two hours."

Rick ends the call and stands with Daryl in doorway of Vudu, "Listen Rick, I'm a head back to my place and gather some equipment. I'll wait for you there, how long do you think you're gonna be?" Daryl asks.

"Me and Carl should be there before sunrise." Rick tells him.

"Alright. Listen Rick…" Daryl looks him in the eye, "…we will find her. We've gone on missions where the person hasn't been seen for three weeks and we always located them. Three days is a piece of cake, just try to keep emotion out it; just treat it like any other mission. You can't think straight if you make it personal."

Rick looks at Daryl and shakes his head, "Yea…I'll try an remember that."


	7. Chapter 7: Les Yeux Ouverts

_**My apologize for the length of the chapter. However, here are two versions to the same song. One in french and another in english.**_

_** watch?v=_Lt98FsWAlw - French version**_

_** watch?v=P4T3tMkjRig - Mama Cass-English version**_

_**Lanie-Love**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>18 months ago, <strong>_

_"__Ce souvenir, je te l'rends_

_Des souvenirs tu sais, j'en ai tellement_

_Puisqu'on repart toujours a zro_

_Pas la peine de s'charger trop_

_Ce souvenir je te l'prends_

_Des souvenirs comme a, j'en veux tout l'temps_

_Je l'sortirai d'mon tiroir_

_J'rve les yeux ouverts, a m'fait du bien"_

* * *

><p>Mike walks out on to the dirt porch while watching Michonne from behind as she sings and rocks Andre' to sleep for the evening before leaving on her assignment.<p>

Two and a half year old Andre' has his head laid across Michonne's shoulder; he's about to dose off while playing with the one of her locs that's hanging from her head wrap.

Titling his head so that its facing the same direction as Andre's; Mike looks in to the toddlers eyes, smiles and says, "Thank God we come in all shades and eye colors; cause with those jade and; on occasion gray eyes, Andre' could cast a spell on anybody and make them believe that he's mine.

Mike chuckles, "Why are always singing to that little boy in French".

Michonne turns around wearing some old dark blue cut-off sweat pants and a black tank top with her locs wrapped in a burgundy head wrap; "Because when he's an international soccer star; he'll already know how to speak and sing in French", she smiles proudly.

Right before Andre' is completely asleep, three open top jeeps come racing up the dirt road causing mothers in the neighborhood to grab up any children they see out on the road in the small jeep convoys path.

Michonne looks up and sees the convoy then looks back at Mike; in a terrified tone she asks, "Mike?"

She turns back around and watches as all three jeeps park in front of her front yard; Michonne notices Mike dropping to his knees with his hands behind his neck.

Now that dread has taken hold; in a panicky voice she asks, "Mike you didn't, you didn't give them the letter did you?" All he could do was drops his head in disgrace.

"Please Mike tell me you didn't give them the letter", she whispers hopelessly.

Michonne turns back to gawk at the local soldiers with their semi automatic weapons; as the kick down the fragile front gate and trample all over the garden in her front yard.

In her denial of the events that are about to come; her eyes flood with tears as she holds Andre's little face close to hers whispering in prayer to the universe, "Please, please, please don't do this happen…God please don't do this happen."

Andre' begins to scream and cry as one of the soldiers pull him out and away from his mother's arms while two other soldiers knee Michonne in the back causing her to fall to her knees in pain as she hollers for the toddler boy with the jade; and on occasion gray eyes, "PLEASE, PLEASE DON'T DO THIS!"

Adesanya, one of the new warlords fight for territory in the area; gets out of the one of the jeeps and walks up to the dirt porch where Michonne is on her knees while Adesanya's men tie her hands with rope.

He pulls an open letter from his side pocket as he kneels on the ground to look in Michonne eyes, "Where did this come from?I told you 2 and a ½ years ago that I would make sure you'd suffer for trying something like this again.

Adesanya shakes his head in pity for Michonne, "The sad thing is, I don't want to do this but; cash rules…everything around me."

He stands up and nods to his people to have Mike stand up and one of the men passes the hysterical toddler to Mike, "I will make sure that nothing happens to your boy, I will make sure Mike has what he needs" Adesanya tells Michonne.

Walking away from the porch Adesanya turns back around to tell Michonne with complete condolence, "My dear…you have pissed off people that install and run governments."

Michonne is bearly able to see Adesanya walking back to his jeep due to the flood of tears in her eyes; after blinking in succession a few times she sees Shane wearing sunglasses in shorts and a t-shirt observing the current events.

"Shane please! It won't happen again, please!" Michonne screams.

All Shane can do is turn his head as soldiers blind fold and drag Michonne to one of the other jeeps.

* * *

><p><em><strong>18 months later, <strong>_

"Well?! Is he out there?!" Michonne yells.

She continues to keep her steely cold eyes on the gunman while kneeling; slowly reaching for the handle of her katana, she guardedly repeats,

"Is…he…out…there", Michonne pauses long enough for an answer but, the gunman doesn't give one.

"Do you have any idea what they've taken from me, how they've damned this planet, damned our entire existence all in the name of…greed and power", she angrily jerks the sword out of the rotted corpses skull.

Little by little, bit by bit she walks over to the back door.

Keeping her eyes directly on the gun man she tell him, "If you only knew the kind of damage 'world' foundations and organizations have set in to motion… ", she chokes from her own grief, "…you'd do the same thing I'm about to."

Swiftly and without warning, a woman with rich tupelo honey skin and hair as black as fertile soil wrapped in a bun; dashes in to the back of the pawn shop with her gun drawn and pointed at the gunman.

"Wykas-chay!" (Be still, quit) The woman screams.

Michonne looks at the woman blankly for a few seconds then; another man of the same complexion runs in behind the woman with his gun also aimed at the gunman. She finally drops her sword arm down by her side and initiates the locating of her swords sheath and her knapsack.

After a while, the gunman lowers his weapon aimed at Michonne and places the gun back in his gun holster as did the other man and woman.

The woman with the honey rich skin; scrutinizes Michonne with, "Where the hell have you been? I've had my people waiting for you at Hartsfield for the past six weeks". She studies the back of the pawn shop; oddly unfazed by the grisly scene, glancing back at Michonne she asks, "Do we need anything in here?"

Michonne analyzes the doorway to the front of the shop; adjusts her knapsack that's now over one shoulder and; flings the sheathed katana over the other and suggests, "You'd better grab all the weapons and whatever ammunitions that are in the shop," she steps over the leg of the corpse she recently put down and drifts to the back door of the shop, "We'll be needing all of it soon."

The "honey" skinned woman looks at both of men standing awaiting orders, "You heard her, 'Lopko' (make haste). We'll meet you at Rosita's garage later."

The first gun man taps his ear piece to call for back up; while the other man starts putting on his leather gloves and making his way in to the front of pawn shop; stepping around gathered pools of blood from the three dead bodies.

* * *

><p>Michonne walks toward a running Black Denali; opens the back door and climbs in.<p>

After speaking with the men inside; the woman walks around to the opposite side of the truck and gets inside.

"Let's go" she tells the driver.

Michonne looks out of her side-door window as the black Denali emerges from behind the back of the block long strip mall. Once the truck turns right and down block; two other black Denali's begin to come up the block making a sharp left toward the back of strip mall.

"Take a route with the least amount of stop lights and people." The woman tells the driver. She looks over at Michonne staring out of the window, "We need to get these truck painted so it we'll have to stay hidden for a day or two" she tell her.

The woman pulls the bun out of her hair then; lifts up the back seat arm rest and pulls out flask. She takes a sip and pass it to Michonne.

Michonne lifts the flask to her nose to smell; the woman next to her says dryly, "Yea, I'm gonna poison you after taking a sip from the same flask."

Michonne takes a sip and gives it back and says, "I know you have a flare for the cheap shit."

Shyanna's moved at the comment but soon realizes that there was no jab involved behind it; Michonne said it merely as means of saying thank you for coming to get her.

A few minutes go by and the woman looks over at Michonne; who hasn't made eye contact with her since the two were in the back of the pawn shop.

Feeling the hollow energy that seems to have engulfed Michonne's entire spirit the woman asks in a soft yet concerned voice, "Do you wanna tell me what this is all about Chonne'?"

Watching the deserted block as the Denali heads toward Rosita's; Michonne answers, "No Shy...I don't."

* * *

><p>The woman sitting next to Michonne is Shyanna Harjo of the Creek nation and Michonne's biggest college adversary. The two women met while attending Stanford Law School together many years ago. Never fully understanding why they harbored negative feelings toward one another, one thing is for certain; their loyalty to each other never wavered.<p>

Michonne needed help; help from someone that she trusts and someone who hates the United States Government as much as she does.

* * *

><p>After they arrive at the garage, Shyanna's half-sister Rosita, lets Michonne and Shyanna stay in the apartment over top of the garage. The apartment over top is the size of a one bedroom apartment.<p>

Rosita tells them as she walks up the steps from the garage to the apartment, "There's some clothes in the closet; the guy that was staying up there with his girlfriend decided to go home to his wife and kids with everything that's been going on. The two of you should be alright here.

Michonne walks in to the apartment somewhat surprised. She forgot after staying in Togo that here were parts of the world that had electricity and a working plumbing systems.

While she wandered around the tiny one bedroom apartment; Shyanna yells, "Chonne', I gotta go back down for a few I'll be back", and Shyanna closes the door behind her.

**_A little while later,_**

Shyanna walks back up to the garage apartment pissed at the deal she's had to make with Rosita. She opens the door and begins to complain aloud about having to give up half the weapons in order to get Rosita's people to repaint the vehicles.

After closing the front door behind her, Shyanna yells out for Michonne but does get an answer in return. Walking past the tiny kitchen and dining room toward the bedroom; Shyanna passes by the bathroom smelling the last remnants of ivory soap and steam coming from the shower.

When she finally reaches the bedroom she stares at Michonne sitting on the floor with her back up against the side of the bed staring out the bedroom window at a brick wall.

Shyanna feels the eeriness of the bedroom and tries to defuses it by blurting out, "...I mean came here with $50K for them to do the job and they want the weapons..." Shyanna sits down on the bed in a huff, "...I've never known Rosita to turn down cash."

After removing one of her shoes;the room becomes very still, she looks at the back of Michonne's head that's wrapped in a towel; and observes how she didn't flinch once about any of her complaining.

The alarm clock radio on the nightstand suddenly goes off and begins to play music, it was set for 10:00p; the same time the garage worker would wake up for the overnight shift.

The energy or the sadness rather; had taken over the bedroom in the mists of their silence.

Shyanna see a bottle of Almond oil behind Michonne head on the bed;

Shyanna wanted her adversary back; seeing Michonne's spirit wounded like this didn't make Shyanna feel anything but pity and wretchedness. She knew the history of her people and; she knew the history of how women have suffered by the hands of a male dominated world.

She walks over to Michonne and sits down next to her on the floor; her vacant and distant gaze at the brick wall out window unnerves Shyanna.

Letting out a tiny sigh, Shyanna looks on the bed behind Michonne and see a small bottle of almond oil that Michonne was probably going to use on her locs.

Shyanna grabs the almond oil then gently initiates the unwrapping of Michonne's towel from her head, she looks to see if Michonne's going to do or say anything to object; but she doesn't. She just continues to stare out the window, the void in her sad brown eyes matches the missing light that once animated her face.

Pouring the oil in her hand; Shyanna gently grabs one of Michonne's locs and starts to massage it through.

The tender massaging of Michonne's locs sends her back to the last time she held her little boy and how he was playing with her hair.

Without warning Michonne bows her head ti her knees and slowly beings to sob.

Witnessing the painfully climb Michonne must make in order to exist in this world again, Shyanna already knows that whatever Michonne's crying over was something that should have been accepted long time ago. She knew this was what Michonne needed; a moment to breath; a moment to put away the shattered pieces of her broken heart.

So overcome with grief, Michonne lays her head in Shyanna's lap and begins to mourn uncontrollably as the radio plays the lullaby Michonne used to sing to her son Andre' eighteen months earlier.

_"Stars shining bright above you _

_Night breezes seem to whisper "I love you" _

_Birds singing in the sycamore tree _

_Dream a little dream of me _

_Say "Night-ie night" and kiss me _

_Just hold me tight and tell me you'll miss me _

_While I'm alone and blue as can be _

_Dream a little dream of me _

_Stars fading but I linger on, dear _

_Still craving your kiss _

_I'm longing to linger till dawn, dear _

_Just saying this _

_Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you _

_Sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you _

_But in your dreams whatever they be _

_Dream a little dream of me"_

As the song plays on Shyanna adamantly weeps for her broken broken adversary; softly massaging the almond oil through her locs; she tells Michonne, "Come on back, sister…come on back."


	8. Chapter 8 The laws of nature

Morgan plays the cloud video from the coroner's office for Rick; it shows the deceased Mr. Pritchet on the examining table with his abdominal cavity wide open from his wife's attack. While the lab tech removes Mr. Pritchet's upper and lower intestines in to a lab bag; Mr. Pritchet's opens his hideously pale green eyes then, he silently sits up from the table and lunges for the lab tech biting him in the shoulder and neck.

Immediately, Morgan hits the space bar in his laptop to pause the video.

"Rick", Morgan shakes his head in disbelief, "I have been in forensics for over 20 twenty years…"

Using his index finger and thumb to massage the temple on each side of his head, Rick slowly walks away from the laptop to look out the window of Morgan's home office.

"…forget about the fact that the corpse on table has less than a pint of the blood left in his body entire body; forget about the fact that his abdominal cavity has been completely exposed to every airborne bacteria and micro-organism between the woods and in the coroner's office but, would you please explain to me how the hell does that old man know to get up off the table and bite the lab tech Rick? How the fuck does he even know that he's hungry Rick!"

Closing the laptop and placing it in a bag frantically along with the power cord and various scan drives; Morgan asks, "What the hell happened out there Rick? What the hell did you see out there today?"

Rick had nearly forgotten about the events from earlier in the day. Once he found out that Michonne was back in the country all of his thoughts went to finding out where she was.

He walks back over towards Morgan and begins to explain what he and Daryl witnessed earlier. By the time Rick was finished Morgan was convinced this was the end of the civilized world.

In a panicked voice to match his packing Morgan says, "Rick you and I both know that the brain is responsible for every function in the human body. That man's brain died at least 8-12 hours ago. Your account and that video pretty much contradicts just about every natural law known to man in the 21st century…if people can come back from the dead and kill the living …then that's a wrap for the entire human race."

Remembering how Mrs. Pritchet was put down Rick explains, "No, earlier today Daryl shot Mrs. Pritchet in the head and she went down. Is there video of her coming back?"

Morgan continues to listen to Rick while packing then he stops briefly to consider what happened to Mrs. Pritchet, "As far as I know she didn't come back", he vigorously continues packing, "Listen, my brother's son Noah, he's stationed at Fort Benning. My brother says that me, Carol and the kids should go there before the real panic sets in."

Grabbing his bag and heading towards the door he tells Rick, "I told him that we'll be there along with few others."

Rick looks at Morgan and smiles appreciatively as he walks towards him.

"I'll just tell them that your Carol's brother, they won't turn away a soldier's family", Morgan guarantees.

Patting his good friend on the shoulder; Rick smiles, "You've been a great friend to me but, I have to decline."

"What? Why?" Morgan asks.

"Michonne's back and she's somewhere in Columbus…I gotta go find her." Rick answers

Morgan didn't bother to ask Rick if he was sure about going to find Michonne. He knew that there were some laws that could never be broken. If it were Carol, Sophia or Duane; nobody would be able to talk him out of finding them.

Walking over to the bookcase; Moran opens a book size safe that's being hidden behind other books. He looks over his shoulder hesitantly and says, "You know Rick…" he unlocks the small safe, "…we'd be happy to take Carl with us; you know how Carol, Duane and Sophia feel about him already. It'd be easier for you to concentrate on finding her." Morgan offers.

Rick smiles again, "No, he's coming with me; Carl's adolescence is about to disappear overnight judging from that video." He walks over to Morgan and grab one of his bags off the floor to help carry out, "I've been avoiding this job long enough. But thank you, for keeping him time to time and showing him what a real family looks like. I'll never forget your family helping me out", Rick opens the office door and walks out.

* * *

><p>Morgan, his second wife Carol, his step-daughter Sophia and his son Duane are following behind Rick and Carl as they turn in to a rest stop off of I-85. They're only a few working lamp post in the rest stop parking lot. Once everyone parks, Carol and Sophia go inside the rest stop while Carl and Duane play football in the near empty and dimly lit parking lot.<p>

Rick's phone begins to vibrate as he's about to enter the rest stop; its Daryl's number. When Rick answers he hears loud music in the back ground, "Where you at, whatcha got", he asks loudly.

The music in the back ground on Daryl's end is coming from a one of the strip clubs on Powell Ave, in Muscogee one of the counties in Columbus, Georgia.

"I'm in Columbus at some strip joint a few blocks away from the pawn shop." Daryl yells back, "I got the bus schedule from the depot from three nights ago; depot is about 6 blocks away. The schedule had buses leaving after 9:00p. One at 9:30p going to Florida another one around 11:00p going to Atmore, Alabama and another one around 1:30a going back towards Atlanta."

Rick's heart nearly skips a beat upon hearing the bus destinations, he pulls his face away from the phone feeling hopeful about Daryl's information. He brings the phone back to his ear, "She's headin' for Atmore."

"Creek Nation, damn that's a good idea." Daryl says.

"Yup, tribal council won't let anyone feds in sovereign territory without prior notice and a reason why. Carl and I can probably get there by 7a. You wit this?" Rick asks.

Daryl confirms, "Man please…Let me know when you're in Atmore. Rick, you heard the order right?"

"Yea I did and we'll be there before it starts." Rick assures him

* * *

><p>Rick's ending his call with Daryl just as Carol and Sophia start walking out of the rest stop, "Alright, I'll see you in in the mornin'".<p>

Carol motions to Sophia to catch up to Duane and Carl playing catch in the parking lot; she walks over to Rick with four large coffees in a tray; as she offers one to Rick she asks, "Did you hear the executive order on the radio?"

"Yea, I heard", he answers regretfully.

"Morgan told me about you going to find Michonne and that you're taking Carl with you…" Carol's voices cracks as she says, "Rick…you do know that I would care for Carl as though he was my own son. I love him as much as I love Sophia and Duane. I don't want you to think …"

Rick places his coffee on the hood of his car and embraces Carol, "Carol you and Morgan did everything that I couldn't do for my boy or rather everything that I wouldn't do for Carl. I was too wrapped up in my in myself and my job.", he pauses to look at her, "At one time making a living for Carl to succeed in the world was a solid excuse in my mind. Now it's about me making sure that he knows how to survive in **_this_** world."

Rick grabs his coffee off the hood of his truck and glances over at Carl, Duane and Sophia laughing and talking with Morgan then looks back at Carol, "I know how you, Morgan, Sophia and Duane feel about him", Rick smiles, "Hell, remember how he insisted that Santa Clause bring his gifts to your house instead of ours?" Carol manages a snicker as she wipes the tears from her face and nods yes.

He takes a sip of the hot coffee, "The enacting of martial law doesn't come easy to a governor or the president. That kind of order for the entire country has never happened before."

With a sad smile, Rick watches as Morgan throws the football around with the kids in the parking lot, "The world is about to shift in a direction that we've never seen before; I've witnessed and been in warzones before…", he turns back around to Carol, "...my gut's telling me this war is gonna be something very different…and I need to be with my son for that."

* * *

><p>Carol walks over to Carl who's now laughing and talking with Duane and Sophia; embraces him long and hard then kisses him on the forehead then she gets in to the car.<p>

Morgan and Rick stand in front of their vehicles as the kids say their goodbyes to one another.

"So you need any cash or supplies?"Morgan asks

Rick watches as Carl jumps in the passenger seat, "Naw, I got everything I think we'll need from my house. Listen, if Fort Benning doesn't work out you can find me and Carl in Atmore, AL. Its sovereign territory I'm pretty sure she's headed there."

"When we get to Fort Benning; I'll make sure they have you and Carl listed as Carol's relatives." Morgan says.

Rick shakes Morgan hand which oddly feels like the last time they'll see each and says, "Good luck to you and your family."

"You too Rick, I really hope you find her."


	9. Chapter 9: Reflections

It's about 8:00a; Rick and Daryl are leaning on Daryl's jeep drinking coffee outside a 7-11 while Carl's asleep in Rick truck.

"So why do think she's here?" Daryl asks Rick.

"A year before she left for Togo, me, Carl and Michonne were on our way back from New Orleans. While they were asleep I decided to stop in Atmore and maybe get a room for the night instead of trying to drive non-stop back home. I thought it would be cool if we stayed at the Wind Creek Casino Hotel. When we checked in to our room I decided to get some sleep while Michonne and Carl check out the hotel and the rest of the area.

By the time they came back she said that she ran in to her college school mate Shyanna Harjo; that went to Stanford together back in the day. Shyanna had invited us to have dinner with her and daughter in Casino restaurant.

So I thought it was cool; we had good time. After dinner; Michonne said that they were gonna drop Shyanna's daughter back home and the two of them were gonna go to the bar. Carl and I left to walk around then we went upstairs and went to bed.

Michonne came back to the room a couple of hours later livid. The two must have gotten in to an argument cause Michonne started calling her all types of bitches, and she was saying that Shyanna's a racist asshole, blah, blah, blah and how Shyanna didn't like the fact that she was with white man and all kind of shit like that. I told Michonne forget about her then you only ran in to her on a humble and their paths would probably never cross again."

"But in her semi-inebriated state; she something cryptic; I don't know if it was the booze talking or what but she plopped down on the bed in huff; then she placed her head in her hands and said in a low voice, 'It's like seeing my reflection…we're just too much alike…but her allegiance is resolute.'"

Daryl listens to Rick as the morning rush hour begins; after hearing Rick's reason for why he thinks Michonne might be there he asks, "Alright that's sound like hot trail but, where should we start looking? You got a last name for this Shyanna."

Rick finishes the last of his coffee; walks it over to the trash can by the store front and says, "No need, Shyanna owns the Casino."

* * *

><p>After googling the info on the Wind Creek Casino owner; Daryl found the home address of Shyanna. She lives on a large piece of farm land about 8 or 9 miles away from casino.<p>

Daryl drives behind Rick his truck makes a right turn off of route 21 and on to Sizemore Rd; as the reach the end of the road they notice how beautiful the serene the landscape is and how far away the main house sits from the main road.

Rick makes a left turn once he's see a wooden sign, "_**Harjoland No Trespassing**", _there's another sign underneath that one that says,_ "**Beware of Dogs**_", right next the words is a carved out picture of a mountain Airedale with extreme detail given to the dogs teeth.

The house is that of a modest two story upscale middle class home with a garage on the right side and what appeared to a small in-law cottage on the left. Hardly the type of home you'd expect from the owner of a prominent hotel and casino.

As Rick, Carl and Daryl walk on to the porch the three glance around the front yard for any dogs frothing at the mouth ready for a three course meal that may be on the loose.

Carl pushes the doorbell; his only interest was use of the bathroom. Carl had no interest in seeing Shyanna's daughter again; when they saw each other last it seemed as though she was better than him in anything and everything; from arithmetic to the Marvel's Amazing Spiderman.

He wasn't in the mood for a boy vs. girl competition again.

* * *

><p>Shyanna hears the doorbell down in the basement; she and her daughter are witnessing the last birth of a litter.<p>

"Shit, god damn it! Tori go upstairs and call Dr. Greene so she can come by and check the litter then get dressed for school. I'll go answer the door."

Before Shyanna walks up stairs she runs over to the utility sink and washes her hands; while her daughter runs to the second floor to call Dr. Greene and change for school.

Shyanna she looks through peep hole and says a low sounding, "Shit". She grabs one of the colorful scrunchies wrapped around the door knob and quickly ties her hair up in a ponytail before opening the door.

Completely ignoring Rick and Daryl Shyanna says, "Hey Carl, how are you?" She gives him a large warm hug, "My god you are looking like the handsome warrior always knew you'd always grow up to be."

Carl bashfully smiles and hugs Shyanna back, "I've been good; would it be alright if I used the bathroom? My dad and I have been on the road for a while."

Shyanna's shoots her dusty jade colored eye daggers at Rick then at the man standing next to him. She turns back to Carl with a smile, "Sure babe."

She opens the door wider and gives him directions to the powder room at the end of the foyer.

Once Carl races inside; Shyanna steps on to the front porch and closes the door, "So Rick what brings you here and…who's your friend?" She asks looking Daryl up and down with skepticism.

"How ya doing Shyanna…you look well. This is Daryl Dixon he used to work me and Michonne back in the day." Rick quickly injects, "But we're civilians now and we're hoping that Michonne's staying here with you…is she?"

Shyanna gives a blank face with no answer.

"Shyanna, look I know she's somewhere in the area; I just found out yesterday that she's back in the states." He tells her.

Still, Shyanna doesn't say a word.

Rick clenches his eyes shut from being up all night then opens them again, "Shyanna, Me and Daryl been civilians for a while now. After I saw the pictures of her at Atlanta International and we saw the video of the pawn shop on the news…" He takes a calming deep breath, "I just want talk to her to find out what's going on...to find out who she's hiding from and why."

Shyanna recalls how happy Michonne was when she bumped in to her and Carl a few years ago; given the fact that Michonne hadn't spoken very much in the past few days: Shyanna was losing hope that Michonne would bounce back from whatever happened to her in Africa. And she thought that maybe Rick could bring her out of this depression that she seems to be living with at present.

She opens the front door again and steps inside exasperated by the past few days; she invites them in, "Alright, I'll tell you where you can find her but I need to talk to you few things first."

* * *

><p>Carl finally comes out of the foyer powder room just as someone is coming down stairs. As he begins walking towards the front door he looks upstairs and sees the shadow of teenage girl wearing some jeans and a black t-shirts with the sleeves ripped off that says, "<em>Creek Nation Bitch<em>", (the word "_Creek_" is prominently displayed by her modestly ample chest cavity); and a pair of black steel toe boots and her extremely dark brown hair cornrowed back in a bun adding more focus to her neck and turquoise earring studs.

"Carl?" the teenager questions.

As she emerges from the shadows of the stairway Carl stood momentarily frozen by how much his child competitor has grown her rich mesa color skin tone and her voluminous sand-crystal eyes.

"Hey Nina… what's up?" Carl asks.

Nina ogles at Carl in his black dungarees and dark blue hoody that turns his aqua-blue eyes in to a thirteen year old girl tracker beam. She coyly smiles at the young warrior in his blue and black Nike soldiers.

Years before she practically towered over him in height; now that she's standing in front of him at the bottom of the stairs, she knew it would be long before he could see the clear across the top of her head.

"What are you doing here" she asks.

"My dad and I are on some kind of road trip while the schools are closed back home, but I think he's dragging me along for a front seat to his semi-midlife crisis."

The two teens smile at one another and share a tiny laugh in a small unison over Carl's explanation.

It had been nearly seven years since the two of them saw one another. The last time they met they were practically adolescent rivals; sitting in the casino restaurant anxious to show up each other in front of their parents.

Now that they were teenagers…neither Carl nor Nina knew what to make of their paths crossing again.


	10. Chapter 10: Tribal Formation

_"…so you believe that the individual that uploaded the damaging video regarding the largest pharmaceutical company and their free clinic that were endorsed by the U.N.; is coming from somewhere in the Atmore area of Alabama is this right, Agent Paul?"_

_"That's correct, although most of this Atmore area is under the jurisdiction of the office of the secretary of the interior; under the Native American Affairs Treaty, that division is also controlled by the Homeland Security which is also a division of the department of Defense."_ Responded Agent Paul.

Agent Paul puts his hand up in front of the reporter and proceeds towards the military jet headed for Alabama.

The reporter yells out to Agent Paul as he walks away from the her and the cameras while she's being held at bay by secret service agents, _"Thank you for your time!"_ then turns back to her camera man who's still filming.

* * *

><p>Rick and Daryl follow Shyanna in to her large galley type kitchen; the TV. in the far corner of the kitchen is on a 24 hour news network.<p>

_"That was Homeland security Agent Gareth Paul giving a statement regarding the recent uploaded video regarding the massive outbreak of what can only be described as a cannibalism among those who received medical care from Pfizer Pharmaceuticals free clinics in and around the poorest communities in and around the globe. Reporting to you live this is MSNBC correspondent Tara…"_

Once they enter the kitchen; she grabs the t.v. remote off the kitchen island and turns it off.

"You guys want some coffee?" Shyanna asks.

Both Rick and Daryl nod their heads in agreement and sit down at the six chair kitchenette in the corner.

She begins filling the coffee pot with water when Nina and Carl walk in.

"Is that Nina?" Rick livens up some as Carl and Nina walk in.

Shyanna turns around and looks at her daughter standing next to Carl; she gets a small jolt in her chest seeing Carl and Nina standing next to each other, "Yea…that's her", Shyanna smiles, "… lately I call her 'Exorcist'…" she lifts one eyebrow to show her disapproval, "…if you catch me meaning." She turns back around to turn the facet off.

Rick laughs at her movie reference and says, "I know what you mean."

Nina goes to open the refrigerator and pulls out a bottle water and throws it to Carl then grabs one for herself. She rolls her eyes at her mother and says, "Whatever, look I called the Vet and she should be here in a few. Are you ready? I gotta get to school."

Shyanna looks at Rick and Daryl briefly as she places the coffee pot in the coffee maker, "Ahh well I need to be here for when vet gets here."

Nina looks at her mother oddly, "I already called Nana and she said that she'll let her in."

Daryl looks at everyone as they stare at one another like a deer in headlights, "I'll take her, need to get some rest anyway."

Shyanna shoots a look of appreciation and doubt at the same time at Daryl.

Nina blurts out in the silence, "Hey Carl you should come with me…she hold her hand over her mouth, "It's better than hanging around a farm all day", she whispers, "Old people are always trying to put kids to work on a farm."

Carl instantly speaks up, "Yea, that sounds good. Can I?"

Rick smiles, "Yea sure…why not."

Daryl gets up from the table then leans over to Rick, "I'll be at the Roadway on sixth and Abbie St., room 321."

Rick nods his acknowledgement.

"What time do they get out", Daryl looks at Shyanna.

"We get out at 3:00p…" Nina answers.

"Aight, I'll pick them up when they get out." Daryl offers.

Shyanna grabs the coffee can, "Alright, when you get home you need to clean out the chicken coop and brush down the horses."

"Shit!" Nina says under her breath.

"Oh, yea? You'll be eatin' 'shit' if it's not done by the time I get home tonight." Shyanna warns.

Nina quietly stomps out of the kitchen with Carl not far behind.

Before Daryl walks out of the kitchen he looks at Rick and says, "Call me when we're good."

Daryl and Shyanna give each other a vexing stare before he walks out.

* * *

><p>Shyanna places a mug of coffee labeled, <em>"A Bitter cup of Tea." <em>in front of Rick

"I'm not sure what you know Rick and I'm not sure I want to know. When I picked her up three days ago…she's…she's not the same woman that I remember. She's broken, I don't know how or why…Michonne won't tell me anything…"

She blows on her mug of coffee before taking a sip, "…for what it's worth, I never thought that the two of you weren't a good together, I just know from history…that falling in love with any man that works for your federal government is bound to bring disaster and unsurmountable heartbreak."

Rick didn't want to tell Shyanna what he knew, not until hearing what Michonne had to say.

After sipping his coffee he asks, "So where is she?"

Shyanna pushes her seat out away from the table, "Come with me."

* * *

><p>As she walks Rick through the cozy living room; the stone fireplace to the far right of the patio door adds a ski lodge type ambiance to the place.<p>

She opens the patio and when Rick walks out he sees a large barn in backyard about 75 yards away with a horse stable to the far right.

As the two walk across the patio, Rick sees three Mountain Airedales sitting at the bottom of the patio steps.

"Don't worry about them, they are wondering what going on with 'Sayen' right guys…" Shyanna pats her leg calling the dogs over to her and Rick. With their tails wagging; all three dogs come running over for the affection of their pack leader.

She kneels down and pets all three dogs then she motions to Rick to let them sniff his hand, "If you're gonna be around here for a minute then they have to know you're a member of the pack…" she looks up at Rick and asks, "…are you?"

Rick understands Shyanna's question; clearly she doesn't give consent to just anyone when it comes to her roaming security forces.

He kneels down next to her and slowly lifts his hand in order for the dogs to register his scent.

Shyanna stands up, "They've been a bit on edge ever since 'Sayen' went in to labor; she gave birth to a liter earlier this morning."


	11. Chapter 11: Betrayal

Rick stands briefly on the back porch; his heart races knowing Michonne's inside. In spite of the fact that future of the world is uncertain; he feels at ease knowing that he will finally lay his eyes upon her instead of a painting.

He enters the small in-law cottage and closes the door behind him; after taking a few steps inside he sees a hallway on his right that probably leads to some bedrooms.

As he approaches the first bedroom door he immediately knows that its Michonne's room. They're two trays of food lined up against the wall leading to the door; judging by how neatly the food is sitting on the plates; she's not eating.

He knocks on the door, "Chonne'…it's me? Can I come in?"

She doesn't answers.

Now out of patience; Rick just opens the door to her room. A relief smile illuminates his face seeing her siting on the floor in her dark blue tanks top and a pair of worn dungarees at the bottom of the bed.

She's staring at the TV. on the wall showing no emotions. He spans over the room and sees 2 cases of "Red Bull" in the corner; and empty cans arranged on the bedroom dresser in some kind of artistic design.

"Baby it's me…it's Rick", he walks over and anxiously lifts her up off the floor and embraces her tightly; burying his face in her neck as tears roll down his face.

Michonne's numb to his emotional embrace. Rick pulls away and holds her face with both hands and plants kisses across her face never stopping for a second to see that she's unresponsive.

When he stops kissing her; he notices that she's still looking at the TV. He looks to see what's on there and it's the scene in the "Matrix" when Cypher makes the deal with the sentinel. Looking back at Michonne's face that has no expression. He rubs his hands up and down her arms as he looks her over.

She's extremely thin; so much that he can feel and see the bones in her arms and how drawn her face looks.

"My god Angel, you're a bag of bones." Rick stares in to her eyes, "Say something Chonne? Talk?"

Michonne comes back to the present moment then shimmys off Rick hands from her arms, "You left us there."

She walks over to one of the open cases of Red Bull and pulls out a can; she turns back around toward Rick while opening the can and repeats, "You left us there."

Rick touches the corner of his eyes, "Angel…you know that I would've been there; all you had to do was contact me. I told you from the moment we started I would come and get you from anywhere in the world."

Rick walks over to her, "I waited to hear from you for four years; to reach out to me…to let me know that you were alright. If you wanted me to come and get you out of there, you know I would've found you."

Michonne, no longer wanting to hear any of Rick's excuses, "You left us there", she grabs a half full large kitchen trash bag out of the corner by the closet and starts shoving the empty cans from the dresser in to the bag heatedly. Here voice becomes even louder as she continues to repeat, "You left us there."

"I would never leave you anywhere, I love you Michonne. I found you now didn't I? The minute I knew you were back; me and Daryl immediately started looking for you. Shane came by the house last night hoping that you had contacted me; that's when he showed me the pictures of you at airport."

"You left us there…you left us there!" She screams, staying resolute in her frame of mind, "You didn't love me; you said that you would come for me anywhere and you didn't you left us there", she repeats.

"Michonne…", Rick pauses, "If you'd called me or contacted me I would've found you. It wouldn't have matter to me that you and Mike had a child together…I would've found you and brought all of you back!"

Michonne stops her trash collection as Rick sits down on the bed frustrated by how their reunion has now turned in to a hostile argument. She looks in to the dresser mirror and stares at the reflection of Rick holding his head in his hands on the side of the bed.

"Mi-Mike got there 8 weeks after I arrived…", she sniffles as her eyes begin to water. She repeats in desperate whisper, "…you left **_us_** there."

Rick turns his head in horror at her statement. Before she could say another word he storms over and grips both her shoulders tightly causing her to drop the trash bag, "You don't know what you're saying, right? You're delusional; you weren't pre…"

She cries while interrupting him, "I had been there for six weeks by the time I knew. I tried to contact you the same day I found out but the number was no longer any good. I begged Dale and Shane to give you my number; but they told you didn't want to talk to me. Shane showed me some pictures of you with some blonde woman all hugged up together at a bar."

"I didn't want our baby to be born in that place...where they kidnap sons and turn them in to drugged child soldiers, where they steal daughters from schools in broad daylight and selling to highest paying pedophile."

Rick releases her shaking his head no, "I would've come for you, the both of you."

She goes back to collecting the empty cans around the room, "But you didn't…you left us there."

* * *

><p>The release of this information leaves Michonne emotionally spent as well as weak; she uses the dresser to keep from falling, "I am so tired Rick…I-I don't sleep sound anymore; it feels like a dark cloud is hanging over my head and it won't pass." She admits.<p>

"Whenever I cry I keep hoping that this is the cry that will allow me to move on but; when I'm not crying I can't feel anything cause I know I can't accept it. I'm void of any emotions until I can accept... the loss... the betrayal."

Rick grabs a couple of tissues from the tissue box on the dresser; he wipes his face and steps to Michonne and begins to wipe away her nose and her tears; he holds her face, "I won't let you slip…ever", he looks Michonne is her brown eyes, "I'll always be there to protect you from now on Chonne…I promise."

Rick gingerly kisses the last of Michonne's tears away; after four years Rick kisses the real lips of _"Saint Emilion"_. Up until that moment he could only barely remember what it was like kissing her lusciously soft lips.

Michonne nearly becomes completely debilitated from the light passion in Ricks' kiss but; her adrenaline mistakes her heightened emotional state for aggression or a fight or flight awareness; so she begins kissing Rick fervently.

Their kiss grows ever more hungry like they're devouring prey; Ricks hand begins to fondle her breast awakening her nipples through her paper thin tank top, his other hand underneath the back of her tank top moving towards her neck.

Michonne instinctively raises her arm around his shoulders toward his neck and begins raking her fingers through his hair.

Rick turns her body and leans her against the dresser; sweeping his hand to pushing the rest of the empty cans on to the carpeted floor. He lifts her on to the dresser without breaking their kiss and starts to unbutton her pants as if it was life and death.

Once unbuckled Michonne lift her hips making it easier for him to slide her pants down to her knees.

After pulling her pants down to her knees; Michonne pulls her tank top over her head exposing her voluptuous breast hding in a black bra.

He looks at her breasts then at the Michonne almost dupified by seeing the real life woman from the painting; he rips her bra open exposing her heightened peaks.

His lips, teeth and tongue stiffen her delicious nipples but; it's not enough for Michonne. In the mists of her heavy breathing she whispers, "Harder, bite them harder…please!"

He reaches inside her pants and feels the ready-made satin on her in panties. Michonne moves to a heightened state of disillusioned euphoria as Rick massage her clit through her panties.

He finally slips his hand behind her panties then slide two thirsty digits deep inside her.

Michonne groans, "Oh, yes Rick!"

After another hard and heavy kiss; with bated breath she begs, "Fuck me Rick, please make me feel something...anything."

Upon hearing the words "fuck me" leave Michonn's lips, Rick inserts a third finger deep inside her wetness; he kisses her again, "Like this?" He asks in a growl type voice.

Once she feels the third finger she yells out, "Please harder!"

The tightness around Rick fingers sends his injections in to overdrive. He watches as she gyrates from each rhythm like motion of his fingers.

He leans down once more and teasingly nibbles those dark chocolate tips.

"Please Rick...I need you", she pleads.

He remove his soggy fingers and massages her stiffened bean, "You want me to fuck you right now", he teasingly whispers in her ear.

She wiggles from his finger, "Oh god yes fuck me".

He violently lifts her off the dresser throws her on to the bed.

Michonne begins to remove her ripped bra and bends down to pull her pants, panties and shoes off while Rick throws his jacket in corner and urgently removes his shoulder gun holster and gun from his body.

But Rick isn't undressing fast enough for Michonne so; she decides to give him more incentive by rubbing her fingers along her saturated lower lips.

He nearly drools at the site of her glistening box and how she teases herself waiting for this long overdue pounding.

Finally free of his boxers; Rick vigorously climbs over top of her licking and kisses from her navel all the way up to her lips; the moment he slips his dagger in; the two moan like a great relief from an agonizing pain.

He clinches his closed from snug fit and her ever flowing juices.

Michonne reaches for Rick face as he gradually begins to impale her; she intuitively lifts her hip for his every strong injection while kissing his soft lips. She whispers over and over again, "Harder".

Rick lifts one of her legs over his shoulder as her walls over lubricate his steel piping; he massages her throbbing button below nearly sending her to the brink of madness while kneading her nipple and breasts.

The pounding gets harder as Rick feels her gates closing around his intruder; Rick drives homes how much he's missed Michonne in to her hidden box of secrets. He smacks her round ass from the heavenly pleasure.

"God damit Angel", was all he could say as feels her walls closing tighter and tighter.

"Oh god Rick yes! Fuck me! I feel-" she's interrupted by the onslaught of her long awaited orgasm; it hits her so hard that she can't keep still; the only way for Rick to control her body was to push in to her deeper and harder until he finally releases more than fours years of his liquid affection in to his one and only "Saint Emilion".


End file.
